Month: January 2023

Why Camel Hair, Locusts & Honey?

What was John really wearing ?

Why are we given such a detailed description of his attire and diet?

Matthew 3:4 and the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 

The English name John is the transliteration of the Greek name Ioannes, Ιωαννης

and the Greek name Ioannes is the transliteration of the Hebrew name Johanan, יְהוֹחָנָן;

which has the meaning of:

Yahweh Is Gracious or Yahweh Has Been Gracious.

יְהוֹחָנָן   Yohanan  John

Original Word: יְהוֹחָנָן
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Yehochanan
Phonetic Spelling: yeh-ho-khaw-nawn’

יוחנן המטביל 

is the translation of

John the Baptist into Hebrew. 

גמל – camel

Camels hair – שיער גמלים

ארבה locusts

דבש פראי wild honey – dvash

דבש – honey – dvash

דבש תמרים – date honey – tamar dvash

דבש mentioned in the Bible refers to 

date honey – דבש תמרים

Over time, Jewish people started using bee honey – דבש דבורים

– as their main form of honey, so דבש came to refer to that.

As a result, the ancient date honey needed a new word; and the Hebrew language now borrows a word from Persian and calls it

date honey – סילאן

When we read about John the Baptizer/Immerser, in the gospels, they seem to indicate he was somewhat of a crazy looking individual…. In movies and pictures he is often portrayed as a prophet declaring doom and gloom and looking like some deranged maniac dressed in questionable garb; and eating even more strange things like locusts.

Some say he lived in the desert with no place to wash or live a normal life, and was the sort of man mothers would hide their children from; and if he came into town local residents would run in terror from him…

Surely other readers have wondered if this is an accurate picture of him?

Scripture tells us he was born to Elizabeth and Zachariah who were very honorable people and Zachariah being of the family and tribe who served their turn in the Temple in Jerusalem…

Zacharias was a priest, and both he and his wife were of the tribe of Aaron. Luke 1:5.

Why was it important that John be of the priestly line?

Luke consistently gives us the details, because the details matter.

In verse 5, we read of a priest, a man named Zacharias, and he is serving in the division of Abijah. Luke 1:6-8,

For this to be true, Zechariah was not only a Levite, but also a descendent of Aaron. This made Zechariah an Aaronic Priest. Luke also declares that Zechariah, “had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.” So, not only is John’s father a descendent of Aaron, but his mother is also in the Aaronic family.

This makes John the Baptist full-blooded Aaronic!

Yet equally important to their physical lineage was their spiritual devotion. Both Zacharias and Elizabeth were described by Luke as

“righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord” Luke 1:6.

Not only was this a priestly couple, they lived in obedience to the Law of Moses. This would have been an obedience which met the requirements of Torah/Judaism. It did not save them any more than Paul’s religious standing was able to save him; Phil. 3:4-9; but it did set them apart from their peers. From both a New and Old Covenant perspective their good works did not save them, but from the perspective of the Mosaic Covenant, their devotion to God expressed by their obedience to the instructions in Torah, made it possible for God to bless them through the birth of John.

So what happened to their son John, how did he become this wild man? Or did he? If he was so scary how come so many multitudes of people gathered to hear what he had to say and do what he recommended and be baptized/immersed for the repentance and forgiveness of sins?

For the purposes of this study, let’s try to lay aside our preconceived impression of John /Yochahanan; and look at some word meanings, the culture of the day and refer to scripture from their perspective and understanding. Remembering of course that they had only the Torah prophets and writings which made up the TaNaKh, what we call the Old Testament.

There were certain things that were known and were purposely done because of prophetic fulfillment. These were both recognized and understood by the people of that time; and which we miss through lack of knowledge in both language and culture.

First his way of dressing was probably not haphazard

or because he could not find anything else to wear

or because he was crazy or wanted to scare people.

After some research it seems that it was carefully chosen to send a message to who ever saw him.

He did not come on the scene wearing fine flowing robes like the priests and leaders, the Pharisees and scribes but the equivalent of an individual wearing pre-torn denim jeans!

Anything made of camels hair was actually the skin of the animal with the scratchy hair removed.

Camels hair can grow up to 15 inches in length.

More like soft leather which his belt/girdle would have been made from.

He was demonstrating his rebellion against the corruption within both the religious and governmental leadership.

A camel hair coat is an outwear garment made from the hair of the double-humped Bactrian camel. The coats may be made only of camel hair or may also have wool added.  Much like getting wool from sheep, the camel need not be killed to get its hair. Camels shed, or molt, each spring.

Each camel sheds about 5 pounds (2.268 kg) of hair every spring and this shedding, or molting, takes up to a few months to complete. Hair can also be removed from the camel by shearing it. Once removed and/or collected, the camel hair gets separated into coarse and fine varieties and is cleaned before being spun to be knitted or woven into cloth.

The softest camel hair is from the underbelly area of the camel, while the hair on the rest of the camel is quite coarse. Wool blended into camel hair makes a much softer cloth than that of pure camel hair. The woven or knitted camel hair, with or without wool added, is then used to make camel hair coats.

Those who were making themselves extremely wealthy through exploitation of the people, causing them to live in poverty and suffering as if they were living in clothes made of scratchy, itchy, thorny, poor quality camels hair; compared to the expensive quality of their attire, purchased with the offerings from those who could least afford to give. In todays’ culture, it would be similar to leaders, preachers and pastors wearing $1000+ designer suits and shoes, eating in exclusive restaurants and flying around in private jets, paid for from donations of their faithful followers.

We have to remember that for 400 years they had not heard a single prophet calling to them in the name of the Lord, then seemingly out of nowhere comes John…

We know it was in perfect timing according to our Fathers’ plan.

John preached in the wilderness, which was appropriate because

Israel was going through dry, desert/wilderness times spiritually.

 The 400/430 years of silence is a common descriptor for the time between the testaments. Most are under the impression that the Old Testament ends with Malachi. And the last words of that book are certainly chilling:

“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.  And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse” (Mal. 4:5-6).

After a 400/430 years of silence since the prophet Malachi, the lord raised up a new prophet to restore Israel back to the right path. 

Despite the lack of Scripture detailing this period, a great deal happened. Malachi set the stage: many Jews had returned from the Medo-Persian Empire and rebuilt the temple, experiencing a moderate level of revival under the influence of Ezra. But they still did not live as God had instructed them. Israelite men mistreated their wives, married women who did not follow the Lord, and refused to honor God with their giving. Meanwhile, the priests neglected the temple and their responsibility to teach God’s laws.

The Jewish homeland was taken over from the Persians by the Greek Empire in 332 BC followed by the Egyptian occupation in 312 BC. The Greek language came into common usage during this time, inspiring the translation of the Old Testament into Greek (known as the Septuagint).

The Jews continued to practice the Law of Moses and the temple rituals until Syria overtook Jerusalem in 204 BC. In 171 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the Holy of Holies (the most sacred part of the temple). The Jews, led by the Maccabee brothers, revolted and retook control of Jerusalem in 165 BC. The Roman Empire conquered Israel by 63 BC, and continued to reign throughout the events of the New Testament.

Interestingly, many of the events during the 400 silent years fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. Of great significance were the prophecies of Daniel that spoke of coming empires that closely resembled those of the Greek and Roman Empires that took over the land of Israel (Daniel 7, 9). Several apocryphal books were written during this time. Some, like 1 and 2 Maccabees, can be read as more-or-less accurate historical accounts, while others are false teachings or fairy tales. None of them were worthy of being called Scripture by Jewish scholars.

While these 400 years of silence revealed no new biblical revelation, they clearly included many significant historical events. These included many changes in the rule of the land of Israel as well as the necessary preparations for the coming of Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

As Galatians 4:4-5 says,

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

The spiritual leaders of the nation had had no exterior correction to their lifestyles in several generations and were comfortable in their positions ruling and controlling the people as they deemed fit.

It began with Malachi’s prediction of Elijah’s return Malachi 4:5-6, circa 430 BC and ended with its metaphorical fulfillment: the coming of John the Baptist circa 6—4 BC. This silence was shattered with the angelic announcement of Gabriel to Zacharias, that he and his wife will have a son, a son who will come in the spirit of Elijah the prophet, and who will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and will prepare the way of the Lord.

He ate locusts and honey not because he was a crazy man but more likely because he was following the kosher laws of Leviticus 11:21-23, and wanted that to be clear to the people. It is interesting to note many refer to the locust and think of large insects like grasshoppers and those which swarm in plagues devouring all that is in sight.

For a Jewish audience this detail linked John to a very significant prophet in the Tanakh – Elijah!

Whose diet also consisted of

grasshoppers/locusts and wild honey.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the lord.

Whether the writers meant that John didn’t eat anything else, or only that these were his main diet, is not recorded. Some suggest that “locusts and wild honey” were considered to be the distinguishing diet of a prophet, even as “raiment of camel’s hair, and a leather girdle” marked him a successor to the ancient prophets.

Johns’ eating habits of

locust and honey

and drinking no wine or strong drink….

was fulfilling the prophecy of Immanuel, who was to be born.

John wore clothing of camel hair and a leather girdle around his loins, similar to the dress of the prophet Elijah.

There may be an underlying significance to the camel which can endure days in scorching hot deserts, while transporting precious cargo/heavy burden. Could it be referring to this, that after a long, spiritually dry, 430 years of silence since the prophet Malachi, the Lord raised up a new prophet to restore Israel back to the right path?

 John was a second Elijah. 

Camel hair kept him protected from the extreme temperatures of the heat and cold in the desert. 

As for his wild looks, one of the vows of nazirites was not to cut their hair, so no doubt it was quite long and unkempt. 

Besides showing John’s non-focus on worldly wealth and riches, what do his eating habits and clothing signify?

He dressed in camel skin. John’s role was to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah.

Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist;

Mark 1:6

and John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins;

 In Leviticus 11 we read, The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. 4 “‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you.

 

Interestingly, John wasn’t concerned about covering himself with the skin of an unclean animal, one wonders where it came from!

Camels hair – שיער גמלים

Every source looked at agreed, that wild honey was highly common. Some people believe it was honey from bees, others believe it was date honey and still others that it refers to the tree gum (a tasteless but nutritious liquid) from the tamarisk tree; but all agree to its being common.

Now the locusts, were they literally insects? There have been suggestions that rather than insects, the locust was a type of fruit/seeds of the honey locust tree.

And there is one more option discovered while researching for this post, which was rather jaw dropping!  Apparently, there is a small bird in the desert and they flock together in such large swarms that the Bedouin folk call them locusts.

They are a great source of food for the desert dwellers because they are easy to catch and by dipping them in honey, again it provided needed nutrients.

Is it possible that this is what John ate?

Because the English word locust, (Greek akrides), properly means both an insect and certain kinds of trees, the question normally arises as to which of these, with honey is correct. In the Scriptures, and in contemporary Greek literature, the word akrides always refers to an insect, the locust.

According to the law of Moses certain kinds of locusts are clean food.

These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind. Leviticus 11:22.

Locust is the only insect which is considered kosher.

The four insects here listed were commonly used as food in ancient times, as they are today in Oriental countries. These facts have led commentators to agree on the conclusion that akrides in Matthew and Mark should be understood as designating the insect by the name locust rather than a species of tree.

Locusts are high in protein, and also zinc and iron – minerals which many people around the world are lacking.  Although locusts are clearly described in the Torah as being kosher, there is much discussion in Israel, among the Rabbis as to whether all Jews can eat them – or only those Jews who have a tradition of eating them, principally Yemenite Jews and those from North Africa.

One Rabbi believes the only reason that Ashkenazi Jews don’t have the tradition of eating locusts is because it’s extremely rare to get locusts in Europe, so he has no problem – in principle, at least – with eating them.

 Specific extracts in the Torah

in Leviticus Parshat Shmini

state that four types of desert locust can be eaten:

  “Every flying insect that uses four legs for walking shall be avoided by you. The only flying insects with four walking legs that you may eat are those which have knees extending above their feet, [using these longer legs] to hop on the ground. Among these you may only eat members of

the red locust family,

the yellow locust family,

the spotted gray locust family and

the white locust family.

All other flying insects with four feet [for walking] must be avoided by you.”  

The four types of locusts stated in the Torah are known according to Yemenite tradition to be the following:

The “red locust” [“Arbeh” in Hebrew]

is called “Grad” in Arabic.

The yellow locust [“Sa’lam” in Hebrew]

is “Rashona” in Arabic.

The spotted gray locust [“Chargol” in Hebrew]

is “Chartziyiya” in Arabic.

The white locust [“Chagav” in Hebrew]

is called “Gandav” in Arabic.

Edible insects below:

Grasshoppers, Buffalo Worms, Crickets, Mealworms, Beetles and Locusts. Tasting more like shrimp than chicken!

 

As for honey locust, the hard mature seeds, roasted and boiled are soft enough to consume.

Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos),

is a deciduous tree and

a member of the bean/pea family.

It bears long seed filled pods in fall,

of which the pulp is sweet and edible.

The bark, seeds, and leaves of black locust trees contain poisonous compounds called toxalbumins.

They are toxic to both livestock and humans and have been reported to cause symptoms from gastrointestinal distress to nervous system disorders.

The pulp on the inside of the pods is edible (unlike the black locust, which is toxic) and consumed by wildlife and livestock.

Despite its name, the honey locust is not a significant honey plant.

Honey locust fruit taste like gooseberry jam

Carob pods from carob tree or locust tree.

 

In Luke 15:16-18, Here the

Locusts/Carob pods

lead you back!

Back to your Father

both physically and spiritually!

Just as the prodigal son remembered where His Fathers House was when he was so hungry and desired to eat the carob pods that he fed to the pigs.

And he longed to have his fill of the carob pods that the pigs were eating, and no one was giving him anything.

When John entered a village it was not as a mad, crazy person, that everyone avoided, but he was more of a peoples’ champion. They would gather around, listening eagerly to his revolutionary and radical message of a man who was coming soon. This coming One desired to see them set free from the tyrannical control of their Roman oppressors. John brought a message of hope.

What the people would have seen was

the leather belt he was wearing.

Some translations use girdle, but this was very significant and this individuals appearance took on a whole new meaning.

A leather belt/girdle

was a symbol not seen in Israel for a long time.

It was probably a story often told to children of the days past when:

men came to town wearing a leather belt…

These men spoke from Gods’ heart to the people and prophesied of a future time when faithful men and women would enter a new and wonderful age; and justice for all would be seen.

This belt or girdle of leather

was the symbol of:

a true prophet of the God of Israel.

Johns’ message was simply:

repent – return – teshuvah – turn

or return, come back to your first love.

He was saying:

If you have strayed from your first love for our Heavenly Father,

then it’s time to return.

In Aramaic, which was the language the people spoke in the local area of Galilee, the word turn or return is tuwu. John’s message called to those who had never truly known God or loved Him; encouraging them to turn to Him now and learn of His love for them. When John immersed or baptized those who repented, it was as a demonstration of their commitment to the Lord. It showed a personal choice of turning, or returning, to live for and love the Lord; with all their heart, soul and strength. This of course being the first of the 10 sayings/Commandments, which are still what we need to be doing today.

The word “locusts” in Greek means the actual locust insect. These insects are commonly eaten in the Middle East and other places around the world. The Bible itself says they are permissible to eat. Leviticus 11.

The word “locusts” can also describe the carob tree, common in that area. The carob tree produces a pod-like fruit that looks like a long string bean that can be made into flour and eaten.

Locust birds The Red Billed Quelea  

AKA the “Locust Bird”

in some parts of Africa has created a spectacle in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve.

These small weavers are amongst the largest bird populations on the planet with an estimated population of about 1,5 billion. Feeding on grass seeds and grain they can consume massive amounts in a day and can affect subsistence farmers crops detrimentally. Hence, the nickname derived from the negative impact they can have on crops, similarly to a swarm of locusts. 

While honey is not an abnormal food to most western readers, locusts are cringe worthy to some. While modern translations almost universally render akris as “locusts” (ASV, ESV, HCSB, KJV, MSG, NASB, NIV, NKJV, NLT, NRSV, RSV) or “grasshoppers” (CEV) there was once a prominent theory that John actually ate carob seeds. Carob seeds were prominent in the period, used as the standard measure of weight for gems and precious metals.

Scientists O.N. Allen (1905-1976) and Ethel K. Allen (1908-2006) explain the connection:

Some commentators are of the opinion that the “locusts” eaten by John the Baptist…were carob pods and not insects.

An error is believed to have occurred whereby a transcriber substituted the Hebrew g for the r in the word “cherev”; this changed the word in translation to “locust” from “carob” (Harold Norman Moldenke [1906-1996] and Alma L. Moldenke [1908-1997] 1952).

Accordingly, the tree was known as “Johannis brodbaum,” or St.-John’s-bread, in the Middle Ages. (Allen and Allen, The Leguminosae: A Source Book of Characteristics, Uses and Nodulation, 156)

“Did he eat them to survive?”

“Was he crazy” and

“Did he just prefer the taste?”

The basic question is

“Was it really a part of the common diet for the people of his time period?”

Every source consulted seem to be in agreement that wild honey was highly common. Some people believe it was honey made from bees, and others believe that it refers to the tree gum; a tasteless but nutritious liquid from the tamarisk tree; but all agree to its being common.

In ancient Greece and Rome, fried locusts, cicadas, and grasshoppers were considered a delicacy superior to the best meat or fish available. These insects have enormous nutritional value. Grasshoppers, for example, are 60% protein versus chicken or beef with about 20%.

Not only were Locusts not a common part of the diet of the time, but it’s more likely that John the Baptist ate from the locust tree instead of actual locusts. Locusts were only in abundance during and shortly after the rainy season in Israel. Throughout the remainder of the year, any available locusts were found among greenery, not in the wilderness where we are told John the Baptist stayed. However, locusts trees naturally thrive in wilderness regions. As already noted these trees produce a pod-like edible fruit that might look something like this picture below.

 John the Baptist’s appearance would have matched the stories passed down from their ancestors regarding the appearance of God’s prophets. He would have appeared most specifically like the prophet Elijah, who also wore

a garment of camel hair and a leather belt

as recorded in 2 Kings 1:8.

This additional parallel only reinforced the angel Gabriel’s word that John would come

“in the spirit and power of Elijah” Luke 1:16-17

and fulfill the word of Malachi 3:1 and 4:5.

Though John the Baptist denied it, all this significant evidence was not lost on the Jewish priests and Levites from Jerusalem who asked him

“Who are you?…Are you Elijah?…Are you the Prophet?”

John 1:20-21.

So among the scholars, there is not a unanimous conclusion to this question, maybe he ate all three?

Let the reader decide!

Ready for your locust burger?

Final thoughts:

What of the vipers?

Those Pharisees and Sadducees he called snakes…?? They were of a religious order, some were priests and some were not, and yet had committed their lives to the service of the Temple ordinances. Just as in any religious institution today there were good and bad individuals. They all believed they were helping humanity and many did a lot of good things; however there was then as now, a element of those who were corrupted and as we would say with a well known english idiom, they all got tarred with the same brush! Meaning you got a bad reputation from being one of them by name/association, even if you were not corrupt personally.

It was the corrupt ones John was referring to, the ones who had lost their way.

Could it have been something like this: saying they were like orphans children without parental love and guidance? They said they were children of Abraham whose days were obviously long past, and since their birth was well after he had died, they had long lost the guidance he provided. He also reminded them their real father was God and that their relationship was not to be based with Abraham but with the God of Abraham. To everyone else John was saying:

Repent – Turn – Teshuvah

Turn back to your real parent, your loving Heavenly Father, and receive His love and guidance and you will no longer be orphans, abandoned, and without true direction for your lives.

Is this not the call to us today?

TUWU  – Return to our first love?

We may not be called to wear camels skin clothes or a leather belt or eat small birds and/or honey from wild bees or trees; but the words of

a man crying in the wilderness..

a true prophet of the Most High..

echo down through the millennia

to those who have ears to hear today…

come back to our loving Heavenly Father – Tuwu!

John prepared the Way for Messiah Jesus/Yeshua

the One who was to come…

We live in the days where we look back,

and yet we have the same choice to make…

will we choose Him will we choose life today?

He is still the One Who Is To Come – To Return!

The Locust or Carob Tree –

in Luke 15:16-18

symbolize that

Locusts Lead You Back…

The Lost Son longed for a meal of carob pods,

directing us to a very important

and counterintuitive truth to grasp:

when all has failed,

return to God our loving Heavenly Father

Who is just waiting for us to change/repent

and come back home to Him.

Shalom shalom mishpachah/family

and cheverim/friends!

You are loved and appreciated and prayed for daily.

… and…

it’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.

Thief In The Night

There are so many suggestions and sermons and messages on this subject and even more opinions, however what did He really mean??

Is there something we may have missed;

an idiom, an expression or a metaphor?

כְּגַנָּב בַּלַּיְלָה

Transliteration: ke•ga•nav ba•lay•la

Ga•nav is a thief

and

lay•la is night.

The prefix ke means: as or like,

and ba means: in the.

Maybe we could gain a better understanding of the term when viewed from a Hebrew perspective and not our Greek thinking? Hebrew thought and Greek mindset are very different as we are beginning to realize from our studies. We see so many times in the many parables, Messiah is referring to things commonly understood in His day and time. This is especially true in their culture and in reference to the Jewish/Hebrew/Israelites, whose religious lifestyle was based on the Torah instructions, laws and commandments.

The following may give further insight into the term

thief in the night –

ke•ga•nav ba•lay•la

that Messiah Jesus/Yeshua used…

let the reader decide.

Two of several passages which use the words

“a thief in the night“:

Matthew 24:43, “Understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into,”

and

1 Thessalonians 5:2, “You know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”

This now well known sentence…

Thief in the night,

is not really a new revelation of a so named ‘rapture-type’ event..

and many have the concept of a person breaking in to steal.

By looking at the origin of this Hebrew concept/ idiom/expression; which has been embellished by images of escaping out of all the bad end-of-the-age events; we may gain some interesting insights.

1Thess. 5:1-11 and especially verse 4 But you are not in the dark (we are children of light) we don’t belong to the night or the darkness so that the Day of The Lord should take you by surprise like a thief for we belong to the light who belong to the day. 

We often make reference to this term

thief in the night –

ke•ga•nav ba•lay•la

from the scriptures, but how many really know

what the metaphor of the thief in the night is all about? 

In order to understand this idiom/metaphor, we must know historically where this term came from.

We know the Levitical Priesthood had very specific and particular functions and roles.

When the 1st and 2nd Temple existed there was a procedure that Priests were assigned to their duties when they came to serve their two weeks of service.

The High Priest or

another person in charge of the temple,

e.g. the Captain of the guards;

would assign each priest to a particular task.

The High Priest/Kohen ha’Gadol

would make his rounds each night in the Temple,

to make sure that the other priests were doing their duty of

keeping the fire burning on the brazen altar.

The altar was the very heart of the Holy Temple, because all of the service to the Lord was centered around it: all of the daily and additional offerings, as well as the individual and congregational sacrifices.

Three Fires.

Three separate piles of wood burned on top of the altar. The largest of these arrangements was designated to receive all the sacrifices; the second provided the coals for the incense altar within the sanctuary, and the third was the perpetual fire which constantly burned on the altar, as Lev. 6:5 states:

And a fire shall burn there on the altar constantly;

it shall not be extinguished.”

 

A large pile of ashes formed in the center of the altar from the remnants of these fires. God commanded that the coals be removed from here, and brought to another location outside of the Holy Temple which was known as the place of ashes.

 

The ashes that amassed atop the altar were taken to the

Beit HaDeshen (the place of the ashes),

a pure place outside the Temple

Leviticus 6:4,

on the Mt. of Olives outside the city walls,

or to the large Beit HaDeshen in the north of Jerusalem.

 

The commandment in the Torah was to

never allow this fire on the altar to go out. Leviticus 6:13. 

The priest who was assigned to keep the fire on the altar burning all night understood that the fire could not go out for any reason; this meant that He could not sleep the whole night.
If he fell asleep, the fire would not stay stoked with wood, and it would go out, thereby bringing judgment on the entire nation of Israel/Yisra’el.

The priests were also commanded not to have wine or strong drink while serving in the temple (Leviticus 10:9). Alcohol in their blood stream would defile their worship and cause them to become drunk, lazy and sleepy.

The High Priest/Kohen ha’Gadol /or the Captain of the guards, would leave the temple but he would quietly return before daylight. He would first check the fire on the altar. If it was burning then all was well and as it should be; but if it was about to go out, then he would take a shovel of coals from the Altar and go and look for the priest who was assigned to keep the fire burning.

Because the

Kohen ha’Gadol/High Priest

came at an hour

when they were least expecting him to show up,

the priests began to refer to him as…

כְּגַנָּב בַּלַּיְלָה

ke•ga•nav ba•lay•la

If the priest on duty fell asleep and was not watching the fire on the brazen altar, the High Priest would find him sleeping on the job. So it became known as an idiom.

When he found him sleeping on the stone floor the High Priest would wake him up by taking some hot coals from the altar, and after scooping them up with a shovel he would put some on different parts of his Linen garments.

Linen is very flammable and the priest who had fallen asleep would be suddenly awakened by the smell of hot burning coals and his garment on fire. He would immediately strip off his clothes as fast as he could in order to prevent from being burned.

At the end of his turn, the other priests would see him naked, without his garment, and he would be ashamed; primarily because all the other priests would know that he had been caught falling asleep on watch. 

According to Hebrews 7:17-21

Messiah Yeshua/Jesus is our High Priest

after the order of Melchizedek and his true followers according to 1Peter 2:9 are His royal priesthood. We are cautioned not to be like those priests who fell asleep when they should have been alert, waiting and watching for the return of their High Priest.

The figure of speech or idiom:

was well known at the time of Messiah.

The High Priest was not a thief but

he came as a thief, meaning:

he came unexpectedly to those who were asleep!!

The priests who were awake doing their jobs

expected him to come before dawn.

This story about keeping the fire burning on the altar is a parable about those who will be doing the Father’s will when Messiah returns to take away His Bride.

The thief in the night

כְּגַנָּב בַּלַּיְלָה

ke•ga•nav ba•lay•la

was the ancient Hebrew reference (idiom) for the time the bridegroom would come for his bride. Luke 12:35-36,

Yeshua (Jesus) associated the same Hebraic idiom in Matt. 25:13  – no man knows the day or the hour – which referred to Yom Teruah, the Day of Trumpets on the first of Tishrei.

And, in Matt. 25:6, ” and in the middle of the night a cry was made, Lo, the bridegroom doth come; go ye forth to meet him.” (YLT)

The thief in the night

was also the ancient Hebrew reference (idiom), for the time the bridegroom would come for his bride/ kallah – כַּלָּה.

For more click link below Hebrew bride, wedding and 10 virgins (natzarim):

https://www.minimannamoments.com/the-hidden-mystery-of-the-kallah/

Luke 12:35-36, “ 35 `Let your loins be girded, and the lamps burning, 36 and ye like to men waiting for their lord, when he shall return out of the wedding feasts, that he having come and knocked, immediately they may open to him.”  (YLT) 

The allusion is to persons waiting at a wedding in the night, with torches and oil lamps in their hands.

Lamps are kept burning at night, during the dark hours.  The wedding feast was held when the bridegroom came for his bride during the night hours – as a thief in the night.

The Hebrews / Judeans knew the references of the wedding ceremony were also to Yom Teruah, the Day of Trumpets because of the association with the blast of the shofar / trumpet. 

The parable comparing the kingdom to a wedding feast in Matt. 22:1-14 lays out the sequence of events for the marriage of the Lamb and the time of Christ’s second coming… at the destruction of Jerusalem.

Those who are not keeping His Commandments will suffer loss and will be judged and punished by fire. We must be about our Heavenly Fathers’ business.

Noah was like the watchful priest that was in charge of the fire on the altar. He kept the fire burning, meaning: he followed the commands, was a light to his generation and he received his reward. Salvation and deliverance out of judgement.

Lot was like the sleeping priest that was in charge of the fire on the altar. He did not keep the fire burning, meaning; he did not let his light shine before men and he suffered great loss.

We are given a command to watch, and keep our garments so that we will not be ashamed when our Messiah returns. Now we can better understand his warning to us in the book of Revelation: Chazown 16:15-19 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

In his letter to the Renewed Covenant believers in Messiah, the Apostle Sha’uwl (Paul) wrote to them: “You have no need that I write to you concerning the times and the seasons”
1 Thessalonians 5:1-5

The Day of the Lord 

5 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.

What did he mean by this statement?

 In order to understand what Sha’ul/Paul was saying here, we must understand that the Hebrew word for 

times and seasons is

moedim

pronounced – mow-eh-deem.

The word moedim is plural for the

Hebrew word moed. 

Hebrew word mowed as seen in the Hebrew Concordance:

#4150 mow’ed mo-ade’ or moled {mo-ad’}; or (feminine) moweadah (2 Chronicles 8:13) {mo-aw-daw’}; from 3259; properly, an appointment, i.e. a fixed time or season; specifically, a festival; conventionally a year; by implication, an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed beforehand):–appointed (sign, time), (place of, solemn) assembly, congregation, (set, solemn) feast, (appointed, due) season, solemn(-ity), synogogue, (set) time (appointed).

Why did Sha’ul/Paul have no need to write to them about these things?

1 Thessalonians 5:

1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you.

2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of YHWH so comes as a thief in the night.

Because they were all keeping our Heavenly Fathers’ Sabbaths and Appointed Days!

Shaul/Paul, and the Thessalonians were well aware of this metaphor concerning the High Priest and the thief in the night. They practiced these things in the temple year after year and there was no need to explain it to them. If they continued to keep the Fathers’ appointed moedim as he had commanded them to do forever, they would not be taken by surprise.

1Thessalonians 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

In ancient Jerusalem, there would be two witnesses who would stand on the walls of Jerusalem and watch for the first sliver (crescent) of the new moon.

When the Father in heaven decided to allow the new moon to appear in the sky, then these two witnesses would sound the shofar/trumpet and all the people in the city would immediately drop what they were doing, and they would run towards the temple for the celebration of

The Day of Blowing or in Hebrew,Yom Teruah.

The Temple doors were only open for a short period of time, and if they failed to make it to the temple before the doors were shut, those who were slow in running to the temple were left out. Once the doors were shut, nobody could get in. Because this feast was to begin at sundown, they had to make sure that their oil lamps were filled so that they could find their way in the dark towards the temple. 

In those days, there were no street lights, so they had to carry their oil lamps to help them find their way once it got dark. In Matthew 25, our Messiah told the parable of the ten virgins. Only five of these virgins were wise and had their oil lamps filled when the bridegroom came, but the five foolish virgins had not prepared themselves by filling their lamps with oil. 

When The Day That No Man Knows had arrived, the two witnesses sounded the trumpet/shofar, and the five wise virgins were ready to go into the marriage. Much to their peril, the foolish virgins, had no oil in their lamps, and consequently, they could not see their way around in the dark. The foolish virgins were admonished to go and buy oil for their lamps, which caused them to be too late for the feast. When the temple doors were shut, the five foolish virgins were left out. 

Many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem would be

working in the fields or

grinding at the mill, Matthew 24:40-42,

and when they heard the sound of the shofar/trumpet

they knew that their work was finished. 

Our Messiah was speaking in the language of 

Feast of Trumpets typology

when He said that we must 

Work while it is yet day, for the night comes when no man can work  John 9:24.

Those who were working in the fields had to run towards the temple before the doors were shut. The person who was alert and listening for the trumpet would be taken by the alarm; this was his signal to run towards the temple.

However, those who were not alert and not watching, would not hear the sound of the trumpet, and they would be left in the field or grinding at the mill,

unaware that

the day had come.

Shaul/Paul, knew that these followers of Messiah were

not in darkness because they were keeping their

oil lamps filled and ready for the day when it arrived.

They would not be overtaken by

the day that no man knows 

without oil in their lamps.

Their High Priest, Jesus/Yeshua, would come not as

A

for them, because they would not be in darkness!

1Thessalonians 5:

4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

5 You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

The Hebrew word for 

day is yom – יוֹם

which means the following:

#3117 yowm: yome from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset), continually, everlasting, season.

The Hebrew word for light

in the Strong’s Hebrew Concordance as

#216 owr אוֹר

which means the following: light, light of day, light of heavenly luminaries (moon, sun, stars); day-break, dawn, morning light; light of lamp; light of life; light of prosperity; light of instruction.

The illustration below of the seven-branch menorah,

each light on the lamp represents

a feast day or

an appointed yom.

Paul was saying that because they and we are 

children of the light and of the day,

we will be walking in our Master’s instructions,

and the light or revelation received when we understand and remember His appointed times!

As priests in the order of Melchizedek, we must not be like those priests who would be found

drinking alcohol while on watch and

getting drunk and falling asleep.

We are given clear warning here to

watch and be sober.

The Greek word here for

sober is nepho

which literally means: to abstain from wine.

1 Thessalonians 5:

6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

7 For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.

9 For Elohim has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Master Jesus/Yeshua Mashiach/Messiah.

The breastplate being spoken of here is an allusion to the

Choshen –

the priest’s breastplate,

that he wore for the twelve tribes of Israel/Yisra’el.

Those of us who are ready will be made kings and priests in the New Millennial Kingdom of our Mashiyach/Messiah as we can read in Revelation 1:6, 5:10. For

the bride who is walking in the light and the truth of scripture,

must go through tribulation

as part of the purifying process

to be made ready without spot or wrinkle

Daniel 12:10, Revelation 3:8; 7:14. 

The Hebrew word for

tribulation 

in the Strong’s  Concordance:

#6862 tsar tsar or tsar {tsawr}; from 6887; narrow; (as a noun) a tight place (usually figuratively, i.e. trouble); also a pebble (as in 6864); (transitive) an opponent (as crowding):–adversary, afflicted(-tion), anguish, close, distress, enemy, flint, foe, narrow, small, sorrow, strait, tribulation, trouble.

Messiah likened Himself to 

The thief in the night

who would

come at

an hour that no man knows.

For these people who were not watching with their oil lamps filled, sudden destruction will come upon them as a woman in travail

and it would be too late for them to escape the wrath of The Father. 1Thessalonians 5:3

The priest’s duty was to trim the wicks and

keep the lamp lit at all times.

The menorah represented God, Who is light. Jesus/Yeshua said that He was the Light of the World in John 9:5. When Jesus/Yeshua returns, He will be the Light /the menorah in the Tabernacle as it is said in Revelation, The Lamb will be its light.

For us today we are to be the Light of the World.

As previously noted fire was always burning in the Temple, because the Lord commanded His priests saying,

A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. Leviticus 6:13.

The fire on the altar was a reflection of God ‘s moving power and His continual ministry on behalf of His children.

Why was the fire in the altar to burn continuously as repeated in Leviticus?

…12The fire on the altar shall be kept burning; it must not be extinguished. Every morning the priest is to add wood to the fire, arrange the burnt offering on it, and burn the fat portions of the peace offerings on it. 13The fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not be extinguished.

God wanted a perpetual fire there. Recall that before the giving of the Torah/Law, God appeared to Moses “in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up”  Exodus 3:2 .

The Fathers Holy presence/His divinity and fire are often connected in the scriptures: Deuteronomy 5:4; Psalms 50:3; Malachi 3:2, and this is because of His power, glory, and the cleansing effects of fire. Just as a fire separates the metal from the dross, so our Father by His work, refines the righteous and also by His judgments, separates the good from the evil.

In the Old Testament, the Lord appeared to Moses in the wilderness in the form of a burning bush Exodus 3:2. And after the Exodus, He walked among His people in the form of a pillar of fire Exodus 13:21–22. The fire represented the presence of the Almighty

1 Corinthians 10:1-4, 9.

The temple fire was originally kindled by God Himself: 

and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Leviticus 9:24.

No other source of fire was acceptable to God.

When the sons of Aaron attempted to offer a foreign fire, they were killed. Numbers 3:4.

The Jewish historians affirm that this fire burned continuously through their sojourning years in the wilderness.

The fire of the Lord was again sent down during the dedication of the new temple by Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:1 and it would seem that it continued until the Babylonian captivity.

Some Hebrew traditions even claim that it continued for more than 1,400 years, never being allowed to be put out until the final destruction of the temple at Jerusalem in 70 AD.

John the Baptist prophesied that the Messiah was to baptize people with the Spirit and with fire Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16.

And after the Resurrection, His Holy Spirit at the Day of Pentecost came down and filled the people taking the form of

“tongues of fire” Acts 2:3.

Jesus/Yeshua said in John 16:1 I have told you these things so you wont be caught off guard or taken by surprise. And in verse 13-15 reminding us that Holy Spirit will announce to us the events of the future.

However in 1Thess. 5:1-3 we are told that only the Father knows the times and dates; Matthew 24:36, and believers have no need to know them. Acts 1:7 so all our date setting and calculations are to no avail because the

Day of the Lord will come

like a

כְּגַנָּב בַּלַּיְלָה

ke•ga•nav ba•lay•la

thief in the night.

Is. 2:9; Amos 5:18-20; Zeph 1:7,14; 2:2-3; 3:8.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

2Pet 3:10

No one knows when exactly Messiah will appear.

Matthew 24:27  When the Son of Man comes, it will be like lightning extremely fast, and everyone will see it, no one will miss it

Verse 30 Son of Man comes on the clouds.

1Thess 5:3 The destruction will come suddenly upon them. The picture of destruction coming suddenly in the midst of (apparent) peace, echoes throughout the Tenakh with the prophets like Isaiah 57:19-21 Jeremiah 6:14 and Ezek. 10:10. Here Paul refers to

Yom Adonai Day of the Lord and Messiahs return as:

the way labor pains come upon a pregnant woman.

The sages/rabbis have historically referred to these troubled times preceding the advent of the Messiah as

the chevlei Mashiach, the birth pains of Messiah.

The expression arises from the prophets who employed birthing imagery, often comparing times of distress and the trials of the day of the LORD to the travails suffered by a woman in labor.

Luke 17:26-30; Genesis 6:13 & Matt. 24:30. In the days of Noah they didn’t know what was happening until the flood came and swept them all away and as for the one taken and one left in Matt 13:24; Messiah clearly says the tares are gathered first verse 30 from among the wheat…so maybe the one taken is not the believer?

Rev. 16:15-19 Of a certainty the Messiah will come as a

and whether the reader holds to

a pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, or post-tribulation

so named rapture type event;

as the word rapture is nowhere in scripture;

it remains for each of us to

be prepared and ready for

His certain and imminent return.

Because the

Solomon principle

of Ecc. 1:9 solemly declares:

the thing that has been is the thing that shall be

so

..as in the days of Noah and Lot……

Rest assured family, He is coming for His Bride

let’s make certain we are awake!

There is forgiveness of sins and

a future to be gained

for the truly repentant heart…

…don’t wait one more minute,

let the Blood of His Son,

Messiah Yeshua – Jesus Christ

wash you clean and make you wholly ready

for eternity in His presence.

Shalom, shalom mishpachah/family

and cheverim/friends!

It’s all about Life and Relationship,

NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.

Why Does The Kingdom of Heaven Suffer Violence, & Who Or What Is The Breaker?

We begin this post with some questions.

Why Does the Kingdom of Heaven Suffer Violence,

Who Or What Is The Breaker?

&

How is Matthew 11:12 connected to Micah 2:12?

 

And from the days of John the Baptist until now

the kingdom of heaven suffers violence,

and the

violent take it by force.

Matthew 11:12.

I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold, Like a flock in the midst of their pasture; They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.

Micah 2:12

The one who breaks open will come up before them; They will break out, Pass through the gate, And go out by it; Their king will pass before them, With the LORD at their head.” Micah 2:13.

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the violent take heaven by force! Matthew 11.

Who are the violent?

Why does the New Testament seem to encourage

violence and being forceful?

What did Messiah mean?

Why was He seemingly advocating violence?

Wasn’t His mission here to bring shalom – peace?

Doesn’t it seem contrary to all He taught?

Here is another example of the need to comprehend, not only the Old Testament, but to give some attention to Hebrew/Jewish understanding in reference to their mindset/concepts, oral teaching and traditions. Another example below from Micah 4:1-2.

Why do we need to do that?

Because although the people in Messiahs’ day, did not all have access to scrolls, rabbis/teachers in synagogues, they understood references made to Torah, the Writings and the Prophets more than we do, as we sadly don’t read or study the Tanakh as we should.

The word for

violent

in this passage is:

biastes

which gives the idea of:

breaking forth.

The Aramaic word used is:

qetira

which has the meaning of:

breaking away from restraint.

The semitic origin has the idea of:

a circle

and later of:

being surrounded

or encircled like a fence or wall enclosure.

In some Jewish literature, the word is further taken to mean:

being fenced into the law

and

breaking away from the law.

In Micah 2:12,13 these two verses are full of Hebraic imagery.

There was a common teaching in the oral tradition, explaining that this is a picture of:

a shepherd calling his sheep for overnight hours.

As they were always on the move looking for pasture to feed the flock;

a shepherd would take whatever stones were right there at his location and construct a temporary rock fence/wall on the hillside.

Some pictures show the shepherd as the door, others show that the stones were all the way around.

The next morning, the shepherd would make a break in the wall, by removing some of the stones/rocks and he would then go through the gate/opening; followed closely by the sheep.

Because the sheep were ready to exit the pen/enclosure and the exit would have been small, narrow and restrictive, the sheep were often pressing and pushing one another in order to get through the narrow way/break/door.

As they continued to eagerly jostle one another to get to the food in the pasture beyond, they would cause the door to be widened as they pressed against the rocks, dislodging them..

The picture given is of the sheep finally breaking through into the open pasture hurrying after their shepherd.

In the passage in Micah:

 

the breaker

that is come before them

and

the king that shall pass before them.

Are these one and the same?

Interestingly the rabbis apparently teach that

the breaker is to be interpreted as Elijah

and the Messiah is the King.

This common teaching is that

Elijah comes first as the breaker:

the one who would make the initial hole/break in the rock wall.

He goes before the Messiah to prepare the way for Him. (Sounding familiar? In the spirit of Elijah …Matthew 11:14)

The Messiah is the King who follows, the One Who comes after Elijah and leads the sheep through the gate/door/dalet, in the Way to the Kingdom of God.

 

Those who are following Messiah, the sheep of His pasture, are so ready and excited to go through the gate/door that they will cause the gate to extend wider just as the sheep getting out of their pen did pushing to get into the pasture beyond.

Because this teaching was so well known to the listeners, it’s a great possibility that Messiah was pointing to this particular scripture in Micah when He said in Matthew 11:12

taking the kingdom by force or violence or

by breaking out or removing any restraints of the law!!

In translating the Greek word:

biastes,

and the Aramaic word:

qetira

as violent,

can be a little misleading.

It’s really rather an inappropriate rendering, as it is suggesting a negative, aggressive attitude, instead of an excited desire to leave the incorrect restraints of the law and follow the One who came to fulfill/complete the law.

This is what Messiah came to do, by teaching us how to follow Him and the commandments correctly by applying it to our lives; embracing all that He is, and fulfilling all that our Heavenly Father has planned, leaving behind the added doctrines, traditions and laws of men.

‘THEY WORSHIP ME IN VAIN [their worship is meaningless and worthless, a pretense], TEACHING THE PRECEPTS OF MEN AS DOCTRINES [giving their traditions equal weight with the Scriptures].’You disregard and neglect the commandment of God, and cling [faithfully] to the tradition of men.”He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside and nullifying the commandment of God in order to keep your [man-made] tradition and regulations. Mark 7:7-9.

For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’ Matthew 11:10-15

“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will prepare and clear the way before Me. And the Lord [the Messiah], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts.

In the Old Testament/Tanakh, referred to here, Malachi 3:1 introduces a passage that clearly states that Eliyahu /Elijah the prophet will precede the coming of the Day of the Lord, that is, the Day of Judgment. Malachi 3:23. Judaism expects Eliyahu/Elijah, who never died but was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot, to precede the Messiah. 2 kings 2:11.

We can see that:

the breaker was Yochanan, John the Baptist

who made the hole – breaking the rock wall of religious pharisaical resistance and went forth.

Here we have our answer to our question:

Who Or What was The Breaker?

He was the one who opened the way, made the straight path; and as Messiah confirmed in Matthew 11:14, was the Elijah of Micah whom the rabbis referred to, and who the prophets prophesied concerning.

And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is [the fulfillment of] Elijah [as the messenger] who was to come [before the kingdom]. Matthew 11:14.

If you are willing to accept it he is Eliyahu/Elijah.

This does not suggest that Yochanan/John, was Eliyahu/Elijah reincarnated; on the contrary Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed and destined for all men

to die once

and after this [comes certain] judgment;

specifically teaches that

reincarnation does not occur

and when asked Yochanan/John himself denies that he is Elijah. John 1:21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

Rather he comes: in the spirit of Elijah and

precedes the Messiahs first coming;

in the same way that another ‘Elijah-like’ figure,

is to precede His second coming,

Messiah Yeshua/Jesus affirms this understanding

in Matthew 17:10-13.

And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.

But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.”

Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

Elijah also appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration with Moshe/Moses right before the Crucifixion and the beginning of the coming of the Kingdom of the heavens.

Matthew 17:2/3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.

Mark 9:2

So it begs the question –

Is Elijah still to come or be seen once more before Messiah returns? According to scripture he has still not died. 

It is given unto men once to die and after that …. Those like Lazarus were raised from physical death and would have later died as their bodies did not last forever. Resurrection to eternal life means, no more death either physical or spiritual. Only two men of the Tanakh/Old Testament, Elijah and Enoch, did not physically die, they were taken up alive into heaven. Many scholars believe they are the two witnesses mentioned in the book of Revelation 11:3-12 as they die in the streets of Jerusalem and are then resurrected and ascend to heaven.

When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.

And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified…. 11. Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.

Time will show …..

and it may be sooner than we think!

Messiah Jesus/Yeshua as King leads His people, His sheep through the door/Dalet – Himself, and as they are so excited to go in to His Kingdom of true Shalom and the ‘green pastures of heaven’, like the sheep rushing forward, they break through the gate, leaving behind them the law that bound and restricted them.

They follow Messiah and the eternal life offered through Him, Who is the One Whom the whole of Torah, the Writings and the Prophets point towards.

Messiah Yeshua/Jesus didn’t here refer to Himself as The Shepherd, but, He did so later. John 11:10,14. However, any Israelite who was listening, would have understood to whom He was referring.

We should consider that if He was pointing to Old Testament teaching and oral tradition, He was not advocating or encouraging people to take the Kingdom of Heaven by violence; and certainly not the violence that we think of in our modern understanding and usage of the word.

He is referring to the Tanakh /Old Testament picture, known by all listening that the sheep, and here the people, will be so focused on breaking out of their old traditions to follow Messiah and enter His Kingdom of the Heavens, that they will

biastes or qetira /breakdown the rocks of the narrow gate

and widen it,

so that more and more sheep/people can quickly enter in together.

There is teaching that encourages believers to display an aggressive fighting attitude, which is appropriate in standing against the true enemy of our souls; but as we have seen, not literally against the Kingdom of Heaven.

As His talmidim/disciples, we are not to be violent as in modern terms, but zealous in our faith and on fire; as the disciples were following their Holy Spirit Baptism in the upper room, energizing them to preach the good news of the gospel.

…15 So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God. 16 The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for a single stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.…

16.The law and the prophets were until John: from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it. ASV.

Luke 16 :15-17

We are to be continually pushing/pressing forward

as Paul said:

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for … God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. I press on … reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize. Phil.3:14

Pressing toward the prize, as they pressing into Adonai, the Good Shepherd Himself and bringing many with us, following Him as He brings many sons into Glory.

We are in very serious times and we must be

sober and vigilant.

These are days of ‘getting right with the Lord’

and being authentic in our walk

and faithful in obedience

to all that He has asked us personally to do.

Lets be zealous

in being about our Fathers business…

not our own or other peoples!

There is forgiveness of sins and a future to be gained for the truly repentant heart

…don’t wait one more minute, let the Blood of His Son, Messiah Yeshua – Jesus Christ wash you clean and make you wholly ready for eternity in His presence.

Shalom, shalom mishpachah/family

and cheverim/friends!

It’s all about Life and Relationship,

NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.

It’s My Birthday…But Which One?

And …

which one will we celebrate?

Two of the most asked questions are:

how old are you

and when is your birthday?

we are usually very quick to tell everyone when… 

It’s My Birthday!!!

BUT which one are we referring to?

Every person on earth has some kind of record of birth,  a birth certificate – certificate of live birth. Documentation that they are legitimately, physically, a person alive and separate from their mother’s womb.

Taken literally we should add 9 months to the child’s life, as life begins at conception; and the baby is alive in the mother’s womb here on the earth. So in actual fact, an individual is not 0 years at birth but 9 months more or less, depending on the exact time of exiting the womb. Doesn’t it seem strange to count 0 at birth??

The certificate or documentation or record usually details the time in hours and minutes, recording the weight, the place/location, country; the day, month and year as well as the names of the parents. It’s very precise because the birth was precise and evident to any one present. The leaving of one environment – the womb, into another – the world, is undeniable. We celebrate the date of the birth and every year after on that same day.

The baby has no clue until told at an age they can understand, why the date is remembered and so it is for everyone else. Every year for the rest of our lives. Why do we do this? It’s a strange custom.

Did Messiah Jesus, His disciples and followers do this? Is it scriptural/biblical? Is there a reaction in heaven?

The only noted reaction in heaven is the angels rejoicing over one soul that is saved one sinner who repents.

I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Luke 15:10 & Luke 15:7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

Not when they are born in the natural, but born again from above by the Holy Spirit. Messiah Jesus/Yeshua was born from above from heaven by the Fathers Holy Spirit – He was already born again so to speak.

There is no one who has gone up to Heaven, except One who has come down from Heaven, the Son of Man whose home is in Heaven. No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven. John 3:13

Jesus/Yeshuas’ natural birth was the only one celebrated by angels! Luke 2:8-20

This is a mystery revealed to Nicodemus and Messiah states clearly that in verse 3, unless you are born again from above you cannot see the Kingdom of God. So it is of critical importance and essential for being a citizen of Gods’ Kingdom; just as in whatever location we are born physically, it’s automatically determined that you are a citizen of that country, and have a legal right to all that entire nation offers.

The point is, if we are so certain of our physical birthdate and yet were obviously too young to remember it or know it, and yet we hold it so dear; and we not only know our own birthdate, (which is tied to everything we do in the worlds system); we also know those of our siblings, parents, spouse, families and friends.

The critical question is:

When exactly was your born again from above spiritual birth day? We should ask ourselves, isn’t that more important and significant than the one that entitles us to the worlds’ resources and benefits? The world and riches/benefits that Messiah refused when it was offered to Him? Matthew 4:9; Luke 4:7.

Isn’t the fact that being born again from above essential to seeing the kingdom of heaven; and knowing not only we are forgiven, but eligible for all the future privileges and gifts of the infinite, eternal Kingdom of the living God and His Messiah?

And furthermore, that our sins are removed and we have become His child, born into a new realm by His Spirit.

Which is the most important birthday?

And why don’t we celebrate this one – the one that promises eternal life with the Father who has provided this future for us.

We are written in His book of Life our names are recorded spiritually.

“But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb‘s book of life.” Revelation 3:5.

We don’t need a paper certificate because our life should spiritually reflect our new birth and new allegiance, new ownership – new parent as we emerge from the womb of the earth/world. The world which offers only eternal death. We are born into eternal life, not death, death is separation from our Heavenly Father.

The challenge is, if we can’t pinpoint our spiritual birthdate to the same accuracy as the information and details on our physical birth certificate, why cant we??

Wasn’t it as important and as wonderful, as the natural birth? The re-birth that we should not only be cognizant of, but consciously consenting to – repenting, understanding what we were doing and what was happening to us?

The writer remembers exactly, to the minute, when this spiritual, born from above by His Spirit of Holiness experience occurred, and thanks be to our Heavenly Father and His Son, life/chaim was changed for ever. The knowing of its’ significance and consequences are so important that it will never ever be forgotten or diminished. Family, friends, do you remember your born from above moment too? If you can’t, we must ask ourselves the critical question – why not? Why can’t we remember? It’s a more sure and eternal event than our natural birth.

Ask our Father to show you, to remind you and if there is any tiny shadow of doubt as to the date maybe we should take the opportunity to ensure we are truly born again by His Spirit. Today is the day of salvation seek Him while He may be found. There is still time and it’s not too late….what have you got to lose?… Everything if you are not born again from above!

Don’t just think you are saved – KNOW that you are for a certainty.

And if you are wavering, then recommit yourself right now…record the date, the moment for yourself, then you can remind the enemy when he challenges us.

If you know your earthly, worldly, physical birthday, shouldn’t we know our spiritual birthday even more, and shouldn’t we be celebrating our spiritual birthday every year too? The natural ones will end eventually; the spiritual ones will never cease.

Let’s help each other celebrate eternal life, counting every year on our spiritual birthdates as well. The natural ones focus on the person, the spiritual focuses on the person of Messiah – the One through Whom we are alive to our Heavenly Father.

Nakdimon – Nicodemus had some questions too.

Why was he seemingly ignorant?

In John 3:34 Yeshua says to him:

unless a man be born again from above

he cannot see the kingdom of God.

He cannot see the kingdom unless his spiritual eyes are opened. Nicodemus responds with

can a man be born when he is old?

He was speaking of himself. He had come to Yeshua/Jesus seeking understanding; he had questions like we all do. He seemed like he didn’t know anything, but is that really the case?

He seemed confused as to how a man could be born again when he had reached the age of a senior citizen and had already met the Pharisee requirements to be born again!

He wasn’t saying that it wasn’t possible

he simply wanted to know HOW!

Here we must look at the background to his position. Being born again was NOT a new concept in Yeshua/Jesus’ day! There were 6 ways that one could be born again in Pharisaic Judaism. Nicodemus was already qualified in 4 of these ways and the other 2 would have been impossible for him to fulfill. (the one was that a gentile was said to be born again if he converted to Judaism or was born again if he crowned as a king.

The 4 ways in which Nicodemus did meet the criteria were

One, when a Jewish/Israelite boy becomes bar mitzvah at age 13 he is said to be born again. He had obviously already experienced his bar mitzvah and was therefore born again in that manner.

A second way was by marriage. When a Jewish/Israelite man married he was said to be born again. A member of the Sanhedrin must be married, so Nicodemus could not be born again – again, in this way, since he was already a member of the Sanhedrin.

Thirdly, a Jew/Israelite could be born again when ordained as a Rabbi, (Rabbi means teacher), so Nicodemus could not be re-ordained.

The fourth way to be born again was to become the head of a Rabbinical school. In John 3:10 Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Yeshua/Jesus was commenting that Nicodemus held the office of Rabbi/Teacher of Israel, which meant he was already head of a Rabbinical school.

Nicodemus had gone through every process available in Judaism to being born again as he understood it.

The only other option that he could be born again at his age and qualifications, was in his mind to re-enter his mothers womb and start the process all over again; which was both absurd and confusing to Nicodemus, so was he asking the question in the form of a completely ridiculous suggestion? Or, was He asking if Jesus/Yeshua was indeed the Messiah and if so, then was there some way that this was a miraculous possibility??  Whatever his thinking was, the discussion gave Messiah the opportunity to explain some spiritual truths to this already born again teacher of Israel, primarily that he still needed to be spiritually born again.

John introduces Nicodemus as one of the Pharisees, a ruler of the Jews, but one who recognizes power when he sees it and also one who comes to Yeshua/Jesus under cover of the night, so as not to be seen by his colleagues John 3:1.

As already noted, Nicodemus held the office of a teacher in Israel. He is called a ruler and is thus a rabbi, a member of the

Sanhedrin – סנהדרין

the Jewish religious court and he is mentioned in other Jewish literature e.g. Talmud.

Eventually Nicodemus was born again from above v. 3-8 coming to trust in Yeshua.

The Greek: gennethe anothen,

is sometimes rendered:

born again or born from above,

which reflects that both aspects are relevant. The concept itself is Jewish! Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish states: A proselyte is like a newborn infant. Likewise Rabbi Yosi reminds us that in born again the idea resembles that of a new creation as also seen in 2Corinthians 5:17 and Genesis 39:11.

2Corinthians 3:5. Born from water/natural and the spirit/supernatural. In Judaism, immersion in water is directly linked to ritual cleansing of the body; while the spirit enables people to repent/turn from sin and live a holy life/separated unto the Lord. Born from water in its grammatical construction refers to the Spirit of Holiness /Ruach HaKodesh/Holy Spirit. Ezekiel 36:25-7. There is no necessary reference to the Mikveh (ritual cleansing bath) here. Rather the grammatical construction (hendiadys) indicates that water is a reference to the Spirit as in Ezekiel 36:25-7.

In John 3:10 you hold the office of teacher in Israel.

Literally you are The Teacher of Israel.

The definite article implies that Nicodemus’s position was uniquely important although it is difficult to reconstruct precisely what it was.

Strong’s Greek: 3530. Νικόδημος (Nikodémos) — Nicodemus…

Transliteration: Nikodémos Phonetic Spelling: (nik-od’-ay-mos) Definition: Nicodemus, an Israelite Usage: Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin.

The name Nicodemus might mean Victory Of The People From (1) the noun νικα (nike), victory, and (2) the noun δημος (demos), [common] people.

Nicodemus was not an ignorant man and his question was very valid in light of his position. He was

seeking truth and he

found Messiah and the key to eternal life!

As we continue to seek truth let’s make certain once and for all, without any shadow of a doubt whatsoever, that we are born again by the Holy Spirit of the One True Living God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob; and that we know

both our birthdates!

This year let’s make a resolution to celebrate both of them,

rejoicing that we are our Fathers’ child forever.

So how old are you.. spiritually? And when was your spiritual birthday?

Have you been

????

With all our knowledge and understanding,

with all our studies ….

Nothing is more important than this message so,

please don’t leave here without that absolute knowledge and assurance…. 

Shalom, shalom mishpachah/family

and cheverim/friends!

It’s all about Life and Relationship,

NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

NOT SURE?

YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and came in the flesh, that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your Word is Truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again from above by Your Holy Spirit and I am believing by faith that I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into Your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.